Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2010-11: Brendan Lemieux skated in the Toronto Red Wings bantam program after playing youth hockey in Arizona.

2011-12: Lemieux was a team captain for the Toronto Red Wings’ midget AAA team. In 26 regular season games he scored 9 goals with 23 assists. He committed to playing college hockey at North Dakota in 2014-15 in February 2012 and signed a tender offer with the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers for the 2012-13 season. He was selected by Barrie in the fourth round (69th overall) of the 2012 OHL Priority Selection.

2012-13: Lemieux began the year with Green Bay before leaving the Gamblers in November to play for Barrie in the OHL. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was -2 with 34 penalty minutes in 11 USHL games. Lemieux played 42 regular season games for Barrie — scoring 6 goals with 8 assists and finishing +2 with 52 penalty minutes. The Colts finished first in the Central Division and reached the OHL finals against London. Lemieux scored 2 goals and was +3 with 36 penalty minutes in 21 playoff games.

2013-14 Lemieux skated for Canada’s gold medal-winning U18 team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August before returning to Barrie for his second OHL season. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was +1 with 4 assists in five games at the Ivan Hlinka tournament. Lemieux was selected to play for Team Orr in the 2014 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Lemieux was chosen in the second round, 31st overall, of the 2014 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Future

Lemieux was part of the deal that sent Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia and a 2015 first round pick from the Buffalo Sabres to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian, and Jason Kasdorf.

Photo: Vaclav Karabacek is one of seven prospects representing the Buffalo Sabres in the Canadian major junior hockey ranks. Karabacek was picked in the second round of the 2014 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Francois Laplante/FreestylePhoto/Getty Images)

Many of the Buffalo Sabres‘ top prospects are already earning their stripes in the pros, but the organization’s war chest of young players runs deep, with several other key prospects currently playing in the CHL and USHL.

Photo: Defenseman Jake McCabe is one of several Buffalo Sabres defensive prospects who are pushing for spots in the NHL. McCabe was a second round pick from 2012. (courtesy of Andy Mead/YCJ/Icon Sportswire)

Once the Buffalo Sabres are done collecting their puzzle pieces, it will be a matter of figuring out how they will all fit together. The Sabres have the cornerstones in place with Sam Reinhart at center and Rasmus Ristolainen on defense, but the short-term focus is to make sure that every prospect in the organization takes a step forward.

Photo: Selected second overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, forward Sam Reinhart comes to the Buffalo Sabres with high expectations. Reinhart managed 36 goals and 69 assists with the Kootenay Ice of the WHL last season. (courtesy of Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

There is little doubt that the future is very exciting for the Buffalo Sabres. With one of the league’s deepest pool of prospects already and another five picks in the first two rounds of the 2015 NHL Draft, general manager Tim Murray is aggressively laying down the foundations for the rebuilding Sabres.

Photo: Forward Sam Reinhart was selected second overall by the Buffalo Sabres. Reinhart is the highest selection the Sabres have made since they picked Pierre Turgeon first overall in 1987. (courtesy of Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

General manager Tim Murray was all business at his first NHL Draft, wasting little time making his picks. The Buffalo Sabres are quite deep at every position, but since the focus was on defensemen last year with Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov, the attention shifted toward forwards this year. The Sabres used seven of their nine draft picks on forwards, including four in the first two rounds.

Photo: Defenseman Aaron Ekblad (left) and forwards Sam Reinhart (center) and Sam Bennett (right) will learn where they begin their professional careers at the 2014 NHL Draft. (courtesy of Terry Wilson/OHL Images and Marissa Baecker/Getty Images)

Now that the Los Angeles Kings have hoisted their second Stanley Cup in three years, the hockey world can now focus on the 2014 NHL Draft that will take place on June 27th and 28th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.